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Friday, July 29, 2011

I absolutely L-O-V-E receiving maternity photography (hint. hint. wink. wink. keep it coming.) and this one from Maria of Kiki & Mimi Photography especially took my breath away. The lighting is perfect and the vineyard setting is exceptional. And... this is just a tease! Check out my Facebook page for even more GORGEOUS photos.

From Maria... This is of Chelsea, a fellow nurse I work with who is expecting her first baby girl in August, she's brimming with excitement and that gorgeous baby glow!

The lovely ladies, Nina & Lili of Swanky Chic Fete, were the creative duo responsible for this stunning vintage-inspired baby shower (also featured on one my favorites, P is for Party). Love all the little details -- including the garland and paper flowers, as well as all the beautiful yellow daisies and blue hydrangeas. Love. Love. Love! With tons of great food plus friends and family, this shower was an
event not to miss.

From Lili... This was a baby shower for Emily, a friend who's having her second baby boy. It was a low-key intimate gathering of a few of her friends and family. The shower was at the hostess' home, Nina, a dear friend as well. She enlisted me to help her in carrying out her design vision for the party. It was a vintage-inspired baby shower using furniture and accessories Nina already had in her house as she herself have 2 adorable twin boys. We used decor from the twin's nursery and some cute surprise finds from Hobby Lobby and Homegoods. The drinks bar was actually the twin's diaper changer. Nina and I bounced off ideas with each other and I think we pulled off a cute vintage-inspired baby shower. It was late lunch and we served Argentinian ham & cheese sandwiches, TexMex egg rolls, mini quiches, spinach & artichoke dip, mac and cheese. For desserts, there was endless chocolate fondue with rice crispies, strawberries, marshmallows. We also served mini cupcakes, french macarons, sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, eclairs, cakepops.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

As promised, here is not only 1, but 3 (yep... 3!) DIY tutorials from yesterday's baby shower -- thanks to Kelly of High Street Market. You wouldn't know it, after seeing these end results -- brilliantly photographed by Amanda Bevington Modern Photography -- but each one is pretty basic. With Kelly's easy-to-follow instructions PLUS photos, everyone of my smitten readers can also create these cookie bag favors and decorations. Fun.

From Kelly... At the baby shower, we gave out tiny cellophane bags filled with lemon shortbread cookies as party favors. Each one was labeled with "we 'heart' brooke" (our honored mommy-to-be)... and the backside read "thank you for coming!"

This DIY project was fun and very easy! I think that it could easily translate to birthday parties (or better yet, engagement parties!).

From Kelly... To add a little bit of spunk to my friend's recent baby shower, I made a group of custom onesies and hung them on a clothesline near the beverage bar. Keeping with the "Bb" theme... each one said something a little different. And, our Bumble Bee (that also made an appearance on the invites, menus, and note cards) was again a major star of the clothesline.

From Kelly... Of all the handmade projects I did for my friend's baby shower, this one was one of my favorites. It's SO easy, everyone can do it. To make this door banner, you'll need a fragment of linen, a pack of Sharpies, and a wooden dowel.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

You guys are in for a treat this Wednesday morning. After looking at these photos by Amanda Bevington Modern Photography, you'll see exactly why! I love this backyard soirée with the flying pom poms, gorgeous flower arrangements, bright yellow accents and lovely table settings. Hopefully, just like me, you're going to get a tear in your eye after reading the sweet notes below from the designer and host extraordinary, Kelly of High Street Market. Check back tomorrow with some great DIY tutorials from this baby shower! See... told you... you're in for a wonderful treat today. :)

From Kelly... Brooke & Dean, our honored mommy and daddy-to-be, standing in front of their gorgeous mid-century modern home in Southern California.

I truly feel like a blessed person because God has given me some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. My friend Brooke is one the dearest people on the face of the earth. She's family, really. You know that caliber of friend? That's Brooke. We met in college, eleven years ago, and have been besties ever since. When she called me last November to tell me she was pregnant, the conversation went a little like this... Me: "Hi!" (after seeing her name on the caller ID), Brooke: "Hi!", Me: "What is it? What's going on? Something's up. Tell me." She laughed and then told me she was pregnant. To that I started crying like a crazy person. When I stopped crying and screaming, I said "How long have you known??" and Brooke said "Two hours."

She knew it was a boy right from the beginning and sure enough, at the end of January, she found out that it was indeed a boy. Due in the 1st week of August. Even though I'm thousands of miles away, I knew a very special baby shower was in order. I called up my girlfriend Karen in Santa Monica (also a life long friend, college roomie and part three to this fabulous friendship) and the ball started rolling. From that point, there were many emails discussing cupcake flavors, table layouts, and logistics. We even had conference calls with Brooke (an attorney) and Karen (a sales executive) sneaking away from their offices for "important business." When the eventful weekend finally rolled around, I jumped on a plane and before we knew it, it was Sunday. Baby Shower Day!

Amanda Bevington arrived a couple of hours before the guests got there and photographed the scene. I've said it before but Amanda makes everything look prettier-- she's a marvelously talented person. Not only is she beautiful and kind (and funny!) but she's really a true professional in every sense. I'm so grateful that she was available to document the party!